Crossposted from Flopping Aces

Happy 4th of July!

photo by Mike’s America

I’m so thankful I was born here!

You know how some people celebrate Christmas in July. I like to celebrate Thanksgiving on the 4th of July.

It’s a day to be truly thankful to be an American. It’s such an amazing country that millions around the world will stake everything they have to get here and enjoy the same freedom that those of us who were born here enjoy every day. Some new arrivals may think we take our freedom for granted (read the story of one first generation American who thanks his mother for coming here). Well, that may be true for some Americans (and we know who we are talking about don’t we?) but it’s not true for me.

Today is a celebration of Thanksgiving for being so fortunate to live in one of the greatest nations that ever blessed the surface of the earth.

It’s a day to be proud of our accomplisments, our history and the hard won freedom that made it all possible.

Celebrate with music

Two favorites here: Lee Greenwoods “Proud to be an American” and the US Air Force Band’s jazz version of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” If you are done with loud sounds for the day and ready to mellow out, how about the USAF Band’s instrumental version of “America the Beautiful?”

More links to patriotic music downloads at the bottom of this post.q

Also:

Sarah Palin Resigning
Quick post while at work….Sarah Palin is resigning as Governor.

Guess that’s it for her.

UPDATE

“Todd to FNC: Sarah to concentrate on doing things for Alaska and the country she can’t do as governor.”

UPDATE

She brings up the slams against Trig as being a reason her kids wanted her to do something. “It’s been in the works for awhile.” Said that her trips to visit the troops was a factor.

Nice finish. “Don’t explain – your friends don’t need it, and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.”

Not sure I get it. She could be planning to spend 2010 campaigning for true conservatives for 2010, forcing the party back to its roots and then onto 2012. Or she could be tired of the lawsuits and crap she takes from the media and the left.

Confused.

UPDATE

Sarah’s brother said that “the amount of time she (and her staff) was having to spend on defending herself against all the charges (80%) wasn’t fair to Alaska. Couldn’t effectively govern.”

UPDATE

Dan Riehl:

Just listened to the video. My take – she’s not done and will look to go national in some way setting up for a possible 2012 run.

Others:

She was being sued into oblivion. It worked.

Bill Kristol says the more he thinks about this the more he thinks it might be a bold move by her.

“We know we can affect positive change outside government at this moment in time on another scale and actually make a difference,” she said, adding that politics had become a “superficial, wasteful bloodsport.”

UPDATE

A Republican source close to her political team told CNN that it was a “calculation” she made that “it was time to move on.” The governor’s “book deal and other issues” was “causing a lot of friction up” in her home state, the source said, adding that he believes that she is “mapping out a path to 2012.”

UPDATE

Presser on FOX right now…sounds like she is stepping down due to ethics complaints she has to defend. she said there are 15 of them and they have all been dismissed. said it cost $2M and thousands of hours in work to respond. She has become a distraction for state business.

Or at least that is what I read between the lines.

she said she had to respond to ethics complaint about wearing a logo on her jacket and a picture of her holding a fish…really?

UPDATE

From Sarah Palin’s twitter account:

We’ll soon attach info on decision to not seek re-election… this is in Alaska’s best interest, my family’s happy… it is good, stay tuned

UPDATE

Tape of the announcement:

UPDATE

Glenn Beck on Twitter:

True about Palin dropping out and stepping down. GOOD. Get out of the system. Be a CREATIVE extremist as MLK said.

UPDATE

Andrea Mitchell says her sources inside the Palin camp are saying Palin is done with politics. Video here.

UPDATE

TBogg photoshops this picture of the Palin family: (h/t Dan Riehl)

To this:

Isn’t that special. Notice Trig on the bottom left.

More here.